Dear Friends and Educators,
The mission of New Hampshire Agriculture in the Classroom is to help students increase their under-
standing and appreciation of the role that agriculture plays in their daily lives. We are actively doing
this through classroom programs, teacher workshops, school-to-farm field trips and more.
Each year we offer a Spring Literacy Program where we choose an agriculturally accurate book and
send volunteers into schools throughout the state to read the book and to share related information
with the students. Following the presentation, the book is donated to the school for continued enjoy-
ment and learning. We also provide lesson materials to help supplement the school visit. Teachers are
encouraged to utilize these resources to round out the lessons with activities based in science, language
arts, etc. These, plus additional information pages, worksheets and activities are also available on our
website, www.agclassroom.org/nh. Upon completion of the program, we ask that both teachers and
volunteers complete a brief survey to evaluate our effectiveness. A hard copy is enclosed or you may
find it at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B2NYF5F.
The book selected for this year’s program is Who Grew My Soup by Tom Darbyshire. This delightful
story is about young Phineas Quinn and his questions about the vegetables in the soup served by his
mother for lunch. Fortunately, a man in a flying balloon appears to help find the answers. This year,
we are thrilled to have support from The 1780 Farm in Chesterfield (www.the1780farm.com), the
Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis (www.brookdalefarms.com) and the New Hampshire Farm Bureau.
Please visit their websites for additional information about the work they do with vegetables.
We hope that you find this material useful and that your students enjoy learning about vegetables along
with local production. If you are interested in integrating other agricultural topics or programs into your
curriculum, don’t hesitate to contact us at (603) 224-1934, email [email protected] or visit
our website at www.agclassroom.org/nh.
Sincerely,
Debbi Cox
State Coordinator
NH Agriculture in the Classroom
Spring Agricultural Literacy Program
2015 Educator Resource Guide
Garden In A Glove Students will conduct a scientific experiment and record data in order
to explain the simple life cycle as well as the needs of plants.
MATERIALS (per student):
clear plastic food service glove
5 cotton balls
5 types of seeds
Water
Permanent marker
Twist tie
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Write you name in the middle of the glove with the permanent marker
2. Write the name of the seed you will be planting on each finger with the
marker
3. Wet 5 cotton balls, squeeze them out and put one into the tip of each
finger in the glove
4. Drop several seeds onto each cotton ball (match up the seed type to
what is written on the finger of the glove)
5 .Blow up the plastic glove and close it with a twist tie or piece of yarn
6. Tape the glove to a window (not in winter), chalkboard or wall. Can
hang a clothes line across the window or under the chalk tray to clip
gloves on.
7. Seeds should germinate within 5 days. Keep a diary or look at under
microscope. Can transplant in 2 weeks by cutting tips of the fingers off.
Supporting Online Lessons and Activities (Visit our website or email us to access this page with clickable links)
National Agriculture in the Classroom
“Who Grew My Soup?” Geography and the Story
of Food for grades 3 thru 5 http://
www.agclassroom.org/teacher/matrix/
lessonplan.cfm?lpid=57
Crop Fact Wheel http://
utah.agclassroom.org/files/ uploads/
activities/Soup_FactWheel.pdf
Social Studies activities developed by Utah Ag
in the Classroom
https://utah.agclassroom.org/teachercenter/
index.cfm?controller=main&action=searchpage
Chart showing what
part of the plant you
eat, idea about gra-
phing with soup cans,
plus a jarred soup mix
recipe http://daddystractor.com/2013/03/04/a-farm
-lesson-plan-who-grew-my-soup/
Eighteen activities developed by Illinois
Agriculture in the Classroom to supplement
“Who Grew My Soup” http://www.agintheclassroom.org/
TeacherResources/Lesson%20Booklets/
lessons, puzzles, coloring sheets
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/
ActivitySheets.html
A Yummy Curriculum for Grades 1 & 2 http://
www.fns.usda.gov/multimedia/tn/sump_level1.pdf
Nutrition Education for Grades K-12 from Oakland, CA
http://www.ousd.k12.ca.us/Page/929
Nourish Active printables and activities http://
www.nourishinteractive.com/nutrition-education-
printables/category/13-myplate-eating-healthy-food-
kids-nutrition-printables
Learning Zone Express Empowering Kids to Choose
MyPlate Lesson Plan http://
www.learningzonexpress.com/documents/
EnergyEverydayforEveryone/MyPlateLessonPlans.pdf
A variety of activities and resources to help children
ages 6 to 11 make healthier food choices http://
www.choosemyplate.gov/kids/ParentsEducators.html
Contact us to:
Find an online version of this guide with clickable links.
Discuss curriculum materials
Receive our monthly newsletter
Learn about upcoming educator workshops
School-to-Farm Field Trip information
Borrow materials from our resource library
www.agclassroomn.org/nh [email protected] 295 Sheep Davis Road Concord, NH 03301 ph: (603) 224-1934
A MyPlate poster featuring farms around New Hampshire which produce commodities from each food group is enclosed with this Resource Guide. Please post this in your classroom and discuss the idea of healthy eating and locally produced foods with your students. Feel free to make copies to post in your cafeteria!
Meet the Author
http://www.agclassroom.org/teacher/
soup_movies.htm
brings you a 3-minute video of the author
as he tells the story of growing up in agri-
culture and explains all of the jobs that a
farmer has on a daily basis. Plus, a 7-
minute video of author Tom Darbyshire
reading the book himself.
Sing along to “Who Grew My Soup”!
http://www.storylaurie.com/who-grew-my
-soup.html
Supplementary Resources
“Food Doesn’t Grow in the Supermar-
ket” video
http://youtu.be/0CsuzhWsenQ
video produced by NJ Agriculture in the
Classroom This movie follows "The City
Guy", an adult who thinks he knows where
food comes from (the grocery store) as he
visits three different farms to learn where
food really comes from
and what it takes to produce it.
“Tops and Bottoms” by
Janet Stevens A story
which has its origins in slave
stories from the American
South. In this tale, a clever
hare and a lazy bear plant
the tops and bottoms of their garden crops.
“To Market, To Market” by
Nikki McClureFollows a mother
and son on their trip to the week-
ly Farmer’s Market (available for
loan from NHAITC)
(adapted with permission from Oregon’s “Give Me Five”)
Description: Students learn about the five food groups and what New Hampshire grown foods fit into each
group. This lesson makes a local connection to good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
Set the Stage: Begin by asking students if they have heard of food groups and if so, share what they know. Ex-
plain that food groups are collections of foods with similar nutritional benefits. Nutrition guidelines recommend
daily servings from each group for a healthy diet. Ask students to name any food groups they know. List answers
on the board. Fill in any of the five groups that are not mentioned. When all five groups are on the board, review
them and discuss how each makes our bodies healthy. Ask students to name foods they like to eat in each group.
Record answers on the board. In the end, there should be a list of the five food groups and
foods in each group. Go over the food lists and star or circle with a bright color all of the
foods grown in New Hampshire Tell students that farmers in our state produce over 100
different types of crops and animals, many of which we eat. You can also discuss other uses
for agricultural commodities other than food.
Activity Directions:
1) Each student needs: a paper hand (trace their own or download a template from our website), a popsicle stick or pencil, tape and crayons or markers.
2) Tell students that each day they should eat from all five food groups for a healthy diet—fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy. Have them hold up one hand and list the five groups, one for each finger. After they list off the five groups, have them turn to a partner and give each other a high five.
3) On one side of the hand, students write the name of a food group on each finger. In the center of the palm, they write “Exercise Daily”. On the other side of the hand, students should write/draw their favorite exercise in the palm area.
4) Students cut out the hand, then tape it to a popsicle stick or pencil at the wrist area.
5) When they are done, as a group, repeat the five food groups. Have students take turns sharing their favorite New Hampshire food with the class.
Sort real, plastic or pictures of vegetables into groups by the plant part which we consume. For example, the to-matoes in the soup are the fruit of the plant, carrots are the roots and corn is the seed.
Fuel Your Body
PROTEIN helps your body build, maintain and repair tissue (from
meat, poultry, beans, peas, nuts, eggs, etc.)
MINERALS—Calcium helps to build strong bones and teeth (dairy,
leafy green vegetables, calcium-fortified foods) - Phosphorus helps
with healthy teeth and bones (from dairy products, meat and fish) -
Iron helps blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of your body (from
eggs, meat, fish, dried fruits, whole grains)
VITAMINS—Vitamin A helps your eyes see better at night and in color
(from dark orange fruits and vegetables, also dark green leafy vegeta-
bles) - Vitamin C helps to fight infection and keep you from getting
sick (from oranges and strawberries)
FIBER helps our digestion and to remove waste (from fruits,
vegetables, whole grains , beans, nuts and seeds)
Food Production in New Hampshire
(according to the 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture)
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/New_Hampshire/
CROP FARMS ACRES HARVESTED
VEGETABLES: Beans, snap 320 180
Beets 65 22
Broccoli 61 19
Carrots 94 24
Lettuce 131 78
Peppers 336 not available
Potatoes 303 172
Squash 210 239
Sweet Corn 260 1.514
Tomatoes 346 183
FRUIT: Apples 205 1,541
Grapes 61 94
Peaches 88 132
Pears 40 18
Strawberries 130 129
ANIMALS: Dairy Cows 251 25,346 head
Beef Cattle 683 11,642 head
Pigs 359 3,287 head
Chickens, laying (eggs) 1,309 221,446
Chickens, broilers (meat) 194 28,924
Sheep (wool and meat) 618 8,079 head
MISC: maple syrup 518 82,574 gallons
Stems Seeds
Roots
Fruits
Leaves
HIGH FIVE!
What Part of the Plant Do We Eat?
Flowers
Courtesy of “Daddy’s Tractor”